Tuesday, December 18, 2012

My Fitness Pal

I have both an iPad and an iPhone, so I have been exploring the world of apps! Aligning with my renewed focus on fitness, I have been meandering through a product called My Fitness Pal. This app is very cool, it has a back end database that you can search through to add in your meals and snacks, and it totals up the calories for you.

There is little magic behind the wonders of weight loss, it is rather a simple mathematical equation. Calories IN must be less than calories OUT, eat less fuel than you burn, creative a negative and you will minus the kilo's. Create a positive and overtime you will increase! Pretty simple concept and it often results in a better diet. In my case I get roughly 1300 calories to eat a day. When you count them you sure do realise the importance of feeling satisfied and the sacrifice required for that chocolate.

Of course everything in moderation, so if you really want that chocolate then you have to find the balance, which often means increasing exercise to burn calories to create the deficit. It can be an eye opener to realise how long on the treadmill it will take to burn off that little craving your heart desires. The app also lets you add in fitness workouts, and then calculates the additional calories that you are allowed to consume based on your efforts. For a free app, it was worth the download.

You can link your account to friends to create a virtual support network, and of course, some external accountability. For me I am not a huge person, but I do have some challenges to work around. An annoying health issue which limits movements and often causes fatigue. I also have a demanding career and of course I manage solo parenting in the equation also.

My "range" has reached my maximum, so it is time to get back into the swing of things and bring the equation back into balance. I did ask my sister to join in the challenge, but with Christmas almost upon us she was happy to binge away until the New Year. For me I took the start early approach, not much new there in the approach to my goal setting. She is getting an iPad for Christmas, so I will load up her My Fitness Pal account!